🔗 Share this article Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Comments. A collective of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his school days. The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This action follows the characterisation of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed prejudiced actions by him. One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of poison gas. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with accounts of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends." "Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
A collective of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his school days. The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This action follows the characterisation of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed prejudiced actions by him. One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of poison gas. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with accounts of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends." "Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."